Yahoo! Bids Farewell to Working from Home

Teleworking, or working from home as it is more commonly known, is not an option available to Google employees and now Yahoo! wants to follow suit. Although it is a way of working that has existed for some time, many IT companies are now following the example of these two internet giants and putting an end to teleworking.

But why? And is it a good idea?

Well, anyone sat at a work station in a noisy environment is unlikely to work as well as they would in the peace and quiet of their home. Equally, if at home there are children (or other members of the family), it may well be easier to concentrate in an office environment.

Also, in an office work must be carried out in a certain manner and in accordance with the rules of the company, while when working from home the employee has the freedom to organise their own workload and working hours. And we all know that motivation tends to increase when we can choose our own working conditions…

We even work more from home

A survey in the US has shown that teleworkers actually work 5-7 hours more per week than those working in an office. Also, for those working at home, we can discount the time spent on the daily chats that are shared with colleagues in the corridor and at the coffee machine. But although some may view these chats as a waste of company time, more than one bolt of inspiration has come from these chance meetings. This may well be the reason that Marissa Mayer, who has come to Yahoo! from Google, has decided to put an end to teleworking. After all, a team always works best when all its members are present.

Although working from home can be regarded as a great way to help us achieve that coveted goal of a perfect work-life balance, separating the two isn’t necessarily that easy. Often, we end up mixing the two which can lead to problems, equally at work and at home.

Another problem is the devices that are used for both working at the office and at home. The growing trend of “bring your own device” (BYOD) poses a number of risks that must be considered. Hence many companies require employees to install various applications and software which makes it possible to monitor them, via GPS for example. This software often also permits the remote deletion of data in the event that the device is lost or stolen. This lessens the risk that private photos, work documents or even contact information end up in the wrong hands, and so regular backups should be performed.